It was intensely cold, wherever he was right now and Obi groaned as he pulled himself onto his feet, shivering as the biting wind chilled his bones. He looked down and found himself dressed in his padawan tunic, his cloak missing. The icy air of his surroundings rushed passed him and through him as he was able to pull his arms in around his trembling body, the crunch of deep snow beneath his feet.

"Really?" he called out to the force induced dream, "Hoth? I'm stuck on Hoth in this one?"

Come and sit with me, my padawan, called his old master over the gusting winds and he stumbled to the small table he recognized from his last encounter with the ghost.

"Yes, Master, but.." he saw Qui-Gon raise his hand to stop him as he continued his stumbling steps to the table.

You have a fever brought on by the scrape that dragon gave you, I'm afraid, dear padawan. Qui-Gon looked apologetically at his former student, and Obi finally made it to his chair. As he sat, a wave of heat rushed over him and the scenery folded into the lava covered world of Mustafar. Sweat ran into his eyes and Qui-Gon brushed it clear from his forehead. Obi leaned into the touch of his old master relishing this physical contact, even if it was all part of his minds delusion. Minds. Delusion.

"Ventress!" he exclaimed, looking to Qui-Gon with horror, "she's still out there!" he turned as if to leave, not really certain how he would actually achieve that, but Qui-Gon caught his hand and he turned to see his master smiling at the young man's concern for his former enemy.

She's in safe hands, as you are right now, my friend. Talk with me a while.

Obi-wan wrenched his hand away, frustrated with feeling like a child in all of this, constantly needing to be taken care of, having the whole situation pulled out of his control at every turn. At least that's how he felt here and now. Another giddying rush of scenery change had them back in the snow, the table and chairs gone, but the snow storm swirling around them.

"I'm not your puppet in this!"

I never claimed you were, padawan –

"And stop calling me that, you damned force ghost!" he found himself thrusting out his arms into Qui's chest, the great man stumbling back a few steps. He immediately regretted his outburst and stumbled back himself as his surroundings swept into the intense heat of the lava flows again. He felt Qui-Gon grab his shoulder to prevent him falling into the fast fierce flow and he found himself clinging desperately to the solid form of his master.

"I'm sorry," he heard himself sob into the tall man's robe and Qui-Gon held on tightly to him.

Let me give you some peace, my dear Obi-Wan, if only for a moment.

The chaotic world dissolved around them to be replaced with the lush green of the Naboo forest where he and Qui-Gon had encountered the Gungan. His clothes were sopping wet due to his escape from the droids and they slid to the forest floor, Obi still clutching at Qui-Gon, but too weak to remain standing. He still felt the shivers of ice, followed by waves of heat wracking his body, but the intensity of the changes was somewhat lessened and he found he had more control over his emotions, the heavy sobs easing.

That's it, Obi-Wan, calm your mind and then we can talk.

Obi was gently rocked easing him further into the hold. He had wanted to speak again with his former master so much since their last encounter, but now he just needed some comfort. Perhaps this was the reason Qui-Gon seemed to be treating him like a child, because he suddenly felt like one. He just hoped his rescue of Ventress was enough to get some answers.

Just as you desire answers, so do I, young one, came Qui-Gon's gentle but firm tones.

"Is that why you brought me here?" The heat rose up from the exhaust port deep in the Theed palace as Obi shook his head, reeling once again from the swirling world around him.

It is you that has brought us here, my former padawan, said Qui, still keeping Obi sitting upright but held close to him. Why did you do that, I wonder?

Qui-Gon looked around, the room empty and the shields that had blocked Obi from him that day shifting on and off without control.

Be quiet, he said raising his hand and the shields ceased their incessant drone. Turning his attention back to Obi he ran his hand through the boy's sweat soaked hair. What did you want to say? What led you here? he continued calmly.

"I don't.." Obi began, but stopped himself, Qui-Gon knowing him too well to be fooled by that. He breathed out a deep sigh, this being the moment to explain himself to his master.

"I failed you, so terribly, I'm so sorry," he said into the man's robes, "I wasn't fast enough, I didn't have the control to finish the fight and I lost you."

How could you have failed me, Obi-Wan? You lived, you faced that foe alone and you survived.

"But I couldn't stop him, I should have stopped him, master. I could have saved you, I could have gotten through those shields and helped you, together we would have put an end to him, I know it. But I was too weak, too slow, so useless." He lashed out again, arms pummeling into Qui's chest. He grabbed the arms and pulled them down, continuing to comfort the troubled Obi.

Obi, is that what you've thought all these years? Is that why you never returned to the order?

"How could I face them, master? I let you die, I could have finished that fight if I had only kept control, but I was so scared for you that my fear turned to hate in an instant and all I saw was his face over yours, consuming you and I had to wipe the world clean of him, tear him into tiny pieces for what he had done to you."

So, now we come to it, at that moment, in that one instant, you were wishing to exact revenge. This is what you have held deep within your heart for so long, the true nature of your pain.

"I felt your death and that ended it. If it hadn't been for that shattering of our bond, I would have gone down a dark road, one I can't afford to go down again." He hissed as the heat within his body suddenly shot up to his right eye, all imagined sight lost from it once more. "And yet I did when faced with him on Geonosis and even on Kamino."

Qui-Gon shook his head and pulled Obi away a little so that he could look in the man's face, and he found the raw wound there that Maul had inflicted resulting in the loss of his eye. He brushed his thumb over it, soothing the wound away, but the eye remained sealed.

Obi-Wan, despite what the order would have our young initiates believe in these times, you are human. You have flaws just like anyone else. Of course you felt those emotions at that instant in a battle for our very existence, yours and mine. And you punished yourself beyond anything you deserved. Three times you have stepped upon a dark path, and yet you have come through each trial stronger and more connected to the flow of the living force. Have you not felt it for youself? Could you have achieved your search for Assaj before these recent encounters? To touch the dark side, as you have, and triumph over it does not make you in any way weak or useless, Obi-Wan.

"You can't be serious! Look to your own former student, Xanatos. Surely his fall is an indication that this is not a path to take."

I always thought there was hope for Xan, you know I did, just as we both feel there is hope for Ventress. Do you think the council will see her in that way?

Obi lowered his head, acknowledging what the council's response would be.

"Once you start down the dark path, it will dominate your destiny." He intoned from one of his old lessons.

Qui-Gon nodded, Yes, so we have been told for all these years, and we keep our knights and masters on pedestals, to such a degree now that one false step and faith can be crushed. You do not deserve to have gone through this, Obi-Wan, but it shows that the best of us can be lost without real reason to be.

"But I chose my exile, I wasn't forced into this situation."

That is where my blame comes in, I and the Jedi elders are the ones who failed you.

"No, that's not true, how can you say that?"

I fell into this trap also, Obi-Wan, I held you on such a high pedestal. I had foreseen you becoming a great Jedi Knight and I was the one who didn't prepare you for this. The Jedi Elders and Council have become the same way, almost to the point of idolizing themselves in their self proclaimed purity to the light. If it were not for Master Yoda and Master Windu, I would say there was little hope for them at this point.

"How could any of you have prepared me for this, master? Now you punish yourself undeservedly."

Qui-Gon continued, I raced ahead, I thought to defeat the Sith before he could cause any more damage. My own arrogance at my abilities blinded me to the danger of separating us and I fell for the trap. And it cost me almost everything. In my last moments I thought of you and Anakin. I wanted just one last chance to tell you how proud of you I was, how proud of you I am, that I needed that connection to you, that Anakin would need your calm guidance, and that there was no one I could see protecting him, teaching him and just loving him as you could.

"Yoda did a pretty good job, master, Anakin is a fine Jedi," Obi said sadly.

Qui-Gon smiled. Yes, he is that, and so much more now that he has left them to become his own man with Padme at his side.

"What!" exclaimed Obi-Wan, totally shocked. They were on the Naboo cruiser, now, seated next to each other in the queen's audience chamber. He looked over at the empty chair of the queen and back to his former master, his old familiar cloak and robes feeling warm and comforting.

You'll see soon enough, and I had hoped we would stay here for a while longer, but our time is almost over. So you must listen to me.

"No, don't leave me again, I need to understand this and I still don't."

Please, Obi-Wan, I have much to say and little time left. Firstly, know that I am always here, he touched Obi's head, and here, he touched the man's heart, and you have done more in recent days to secure my faith in the will of the force than any of the council. Second, the players in this war are not done with you yet, the apprentice looks for one to aid him defeat the master and the master looks for one to defeat the apprentice. They both still see that person as you.

"Why? That's still something I don't understand from either of them."

Their motivations are hidden from me, but I do know that you will have to make a choice very soon that will change the course of this war.

"No pressure, then!" he scoffed, the chills suddenly rising again.

Obi-Wan, remember your words to Boba, and apply them to yourself. You are not obligated to anyone, you are your own man and you have the right to choose your path. So trust yourself, and know that I trust you to make the right decision.

Qui-Gon embraced his Obi-Wan one last time and Obi took the hug warmly as it chased away the chills he'd been feeling, but it was over an instant later and he found himself toppling over where Qui-Gon had been sitting, hitting the floor hard.

He jolted awake, his body shaking under the soft blanket, his heart racing, his breath gasping as though he had been running hard. A cool cloth was draped over his forehead and a strange face loomed over him, completely covered in linked metal plates. Some strange language was said over him by the figure which disappeared from his line of sight. He tried to sit up, but found he had no strength in his upper body and sank into the pillows. His heart was still racing, but his breathing seemed more controlled and he turned to look around the room, which turned out to be a tent. Ventress lay peacefully asleep in the next bed, her skin no longer the terrifying translucent color it had been when he had found her, but still very pale. A sudden hitch in his chest caused a hacking cough to wrack his body and he found himself doubled over from the pain and exertion of it. He was barely aware of the tent flap opening and a gleaming white figure entered to help him back onto the bed.

"You do need looking after, don't you, Laterrie!" came Padme's tender voice as she wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his head again.

"Padme?" he tried to say, but got as far as the "P" before another round of coughing assailed his already weakened system and she held him down, sending a wave of healing force to him. He stared up at her in awe, but her only response was to brush the hair from his eyes and place a light kiss to his forehead.

"Just relax and have some water, then it's back to sleep for you, you old scallywag!"

He cringed at the accolade she had chosen to call him, but he was grateful for the drink as it passed his lips, soothing his throat and cooling his burning stomach.

"Thank you," he managed and with a more confident voice her continued, "but how.." he began and she touched her fingers to his lips.

"Not just yet, the fever has broken, but you're still pretty heated. Get some rest and we'll explain in the morning."

Once again he was being coddled like a small child and it infuriated him, despite his obvious condition.

"No!" he exclaimed, dragging himself up into a sitting position and immediately regretting it as the tent began to spin, but he shook it off, determined to get some control back into his life. "What's going on? How did I get here? How did you get here? How are you using the force! Please.." he could feel his energy fading even has he spoke and his body was slumping over the side of the bed.

She guided him back to the soft mattress and laid a hand over his eyes. She hated seeing her dear friend in such distress and knelt down to place her head on his chest lightly.

"Dear Obi-Wan, don't worry about all that now, just know that you and Ventress are safe and we can talk in the morning. Go back to sleep." She sent another wave of her feelings of kinship and love to him and felt him relaxing under her, so she tried the technique Anakin had shown her the day before and settled a blanket of force healing about him, latching onto his bubbling mind and guiding him into a force healing trance.

She gazed down at her dear friend as he sank further into the pillows, his breathing deepening, if a little rasping, but nothing a few days rest wouldn't cure. She brushed his cheek with her hand and pulled the blankets back up around him. She checked on his arm, which was bandaged, but she could sense the bone already knitting well and the gash clean and sealed. Lastly, she wiped his face off, which elicited a soft moan from the sleeping man, just as the tent flap opened and Anakin moved to his wife's side.

"How's our hero doing?" he asked, looking over at Obi-Wan.

"The fever has broken," she said standing up, but still looking at Obi, "He'll get stronger the more he rests."

Anakin wrapped his arm around Padme's shoulder in a comforting embrace and reached out with the force to sense the man's condition for himself and was pleasantly surprised to feel his wife's excellent work with him. Padme had shown incredible progress with her new found connection to the force and was an astute, patient, but voracious student of his teachings. They had focused on force healing as it seemed she had a natural affinity to it and he was immensely proud of her work with the fallen force sensitives present.

He kissed her on the forehead and she looked up at him, her eyes tired, but happy to have her friend finally safe with them.

"Wonderful work, darling," he said comfortingly, "but you should get some rest yourself, it takes it out of you, accessing the force to such a great extent as that. A wise master once told to me 'the Force's energy is limitless, however a Jedi's stamina is not.*'" And he smiled affectionately down into her face. "I'll sit with them for a while, you get some sleep."

They hugged again and she left him to remain vigil over the two very different patients they had acquired. His looked down at the former Jedi padawan and thought back to their first meeting.

From what he remembered of Obi-Wan, the man had seemed pleasant enough, but he didn't have the presence Qui-Gon had, it was far more subdued and observant to their surroundings, but decidedly distant to Anakin as he recalled. He could remember the shock of discovering Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's deaths and despite the elation everyone had felt around him after the battle for Theed had been won, his heart felt crushed and he had wandered the palace alone that night, trying to find some peace. It was this way that his future master had found him, tears soaking his desert clothes, huddled with his knees under his chin feeling the chill of everything around him. The green gnome had been small enough to squeeze in beside him within the alcove he had discovered to hide in. And for the longest time, he had not spoken, just gently made his force presence more known to the scared and saddened boy. How Anakin had latched onto that warm, but slow flow of knowledge and understanding, and before either had spoken a word, a rudimentary training bond had formed between them without any forcefulness behind it. When they had begun to speak, it had been quiet, comforting conversation that had led to the simple truth that they were master and padawan and as they eased each other out from the alcove, everything Anakin had hoped for blossomed within his soul and he found his place within the Jedi order.

He chuckled to himself, he had not thought about that encounter in years and he silently thanked the sleeping Obi-Wan for allowing such memories to come back to him. Satisfied Padme's healing trance would hold until Obi was significantly better, he turned his attention to the former Sith assassin.

She was finally sleeping peacefully. He had managed to piece together a number of her more pleasant memories and was helping her build on those within her damaged mind. He had managed to keep the darker moments from intruding for the time being, but he knew he would have to start re-introducing them to her so that she could begin to recover fully and understand the implications of her tortured upbringing and training under Maul's attentions. Thank goodness he had found and reconstructed the work of Ky Narec in her past. A gentle probe into her psyche showed this was where her dreams were placing her at that moment. If only he had survived to help her continue her training, she would have been a formidable force for good. She still could be, if they could find someone to perhaps replace him in her eyes. The obvious choice was Obi-Wan, but considering the history of these two, he was not about to suggest this, or force the issue within Assaj's mind before he had spoken with Obi-Wan. Although, it was tempting to remind Assaj who had managed to save her this time. He ultimately decided to wait and find out Obi-Wan's feelings on the matter, he wasn't about to force either of them into something they didn't want.

He sat on the floor, basking on the slightly chaotic swirl of the force around the two of them. It was obvious the force intended them both to be a part of this shifting it was experiencing, but it was almost as though their parts had not been decided yet. He allowed his thoughts to drift through the past, moving through the present and guided gently into the future.

He shot his eyes open, shaking from the exertion. Or was it fear? He wasn't entirely sure, but his vision of the Jedi temple in flames, Coruscant burning, the senate building collapsing in on itself, left him shaken. And the voice he had heard screaming at him reverberated around his skull, even now as he stared at the worn fabric of the tent.

"Save the younglings!"

*(This is from the story "Collapse" by Susan Zell (very good Obi-centric story) on FF and I really liked that way of putting it. Thanks Susan, hope you don't mind! If you want to find the story, it's in my favourites list on my FF website.)